Part 1 The Lighthouse Match An island barely attached to the mainland, like a loose tooth on a thread, is called a peninsula. On this small peninsula, there is a lighthouse, a tall grey one that swings its light at night over the small town by the sea. It stops ships from smashing into the … Continue reading Excerpt: Lampie and the Children of the Sea by Annet Schaap
Who is Mister Orange? And why is this quiet, moving book named after him? Written by award-winning Dutch author and editor, Truus Matti, and beautifully translated by another award-winner, Laura Watkinson, Mister Orange won the Netherlands' 2012 Silver Slate Pencil Award and the American Library Associations's 2014 Mildred L. Batchelder Award. The story begins in … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Mister Orange
Chapter 1Goodbye, California “No, No, NO!” Lucy screamed, clapping her ears shut. Her mother pulled Lucy’s hands down and held them tightly. “Sweetheart, please try to understand,” she said. “It’s the perfect opportunity for me to spend a few weeks with Kurt. He called just a little while ago and I had to … Continue reading Excerpt: The Greenest Wind by Gesine Schulz
If you’ve ever had long-awaited plans cancelled at the last minute, you’ll know Lucy’s frustration. She’s been looking forward to going to California with her mother for their summer vacation, but then her mother decides to go on a cruise with her boyfriend instead. Unable to join her father or her best friend on their … Continue reading Review: The Greenest Wind by Gesine Schulz
“Bronze’s family was like an old cart that has rolled for years along bumpy roads and through wind and rain. The axles need grease, the wheels need fixing, the parts seem a bit loose and the cart creaks forward, as though everything is a big effort. But it still works, and it still gets to … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Bronze and Sunflower
Like YA fantasy filled with fencing, derring-do and a dash of romance? Historical fiction replete with counts and conspiracies? Urban paranormal novels about time traveling? Then have I got a fabulous novel-in-translation for you… While this may sound like a mashed-up, genre-bending smorgasbord of a book lost in an endless search for identity, Ruby Red is … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Ruby Red
A nonprofit press based in New York State, Nightboat books has been around since the early 2000’s, publishing over eighty titles since its conception. The press definitely places an emphasis on publishing poetry, but also dips its toes into the waters of fiction and essays. Its mission is simple--showcase works that push the boundaries of … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Nightboat Books
Ready to reboot a makerspace? I have a yarn about yarn to inspire you. Three Balls of Wool (Can Change the World) by Henriqueta Cristina, illustrated by Yara Kono and translated from Portuguese by Lyn Miller-Lachmann, uses knitting to show how a bit of creativity can make life better, even in rough circumstances. A family … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Three Balls of Wool (Can Change the World)
Max (by Sarah Cohen-Scali, translated by Penny Hueston) is creepy. Beautifully written. Translated in flawlessly idiomatic English. And seriously creepy. A well-researched work of historical fiction for upper YA readers*, the book tells the story of the eponymous Max, aka Konrad von Kebernsol, a product of the once-secret, actual Nazi Lebensborn program (literally, fountain of … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: MAX by Sarah Cohen-Scali
An opera singer, Nanette McGuinness translates graphic and conventional novels from French and Italian to English. Cool, huh?! Getting to know a translator can be as fascinating as meeting the author or illustrator of a #worldkidlit title. Though I live near Bangkok and Nanette lives in the San Francisco Bay area, we e-met through the … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Meet Translator Nanette McGuinness
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 